Arms
control advocates would have Americans believe that deploying a
missile defense "shield" would unleash a worldwide arms race, but
the facts prove otherwise: America has deployed no defense against
missile attack, and the proliferation of ballistic missiles and
missile technology--already a matter of grave concern--is
accelerating. An eruption of proliferation activity followed
President Bill Clinton's announcement on September 2 that he would
defer the decision to deploy a national missile defense system to
the next Administration. Rather than give hostile nations a reason
not to arm themselves, America's lack of missile defense has
encouraged them to develop their missile capability. Recent
proliferation activity underscores the urgent need for America to
pursue global missile defense now.

The
rash of proliferation activity is hardly surprising. Rogue nations
would not invest their scarce resources in the development of
long-range ballistic missiles against the United States if America
was committed to deploying territorial and theater missile defense
systems. It would hardly be worth their effort. But President
Clinton's refusal to support the deployment of a robust missile
defense program invites such nations to continue to pursue and
perfect longer-range ballistic missiles.

Critics of missile defense argue that the
threat of missile attack has decreased to the point that spending
resources on missile defense is not justified. They point to the
promises of leaders such as North Korea's Kim Jong-il to halt their
missile development programs and Colonel Muammar Qadhafi's recent
embrace of international norms. Time after time, Russian President
Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Jiang Zemin have scoffed at
the idea that the United States is threatened by ballistic
missiles.

Yet
countries with a history of antagonistic behavior towards the
United States continue to develop long-range ballistic missiles,
which have no other purpose than to kill thousands of people. For
example:

Libya has received its first consignment
of North Korean Nodong Missiles.
On September 24, London's Daily
Telegraph reported that Libya had acquired the first shipment
of its order of 50 North Korean Nodong medium-range ballistic
missiles and seven launchers. The deal includes North Korean
technicians, who will help construct the necessary maintenance and
storage facilities in Libya. Nodong missiles have an 800-mile
range, which will give Libya the ability to attack Israel and
southern Europe and thereby target America's friends as well as its
forward-deployed troops in those regions.

Iran has tested a new version of its
infamous Shahab. On September 21, Iran tested a new version of
the 800-mile-range Shahab ballistic missile called the Shahab-3D.
Iran claims the new missile is solid-fueled, indicating that Iran
is reaching more advanced stages of missile development. Iran is
also dangerously close to developing nuclear warheads for its
ballistic missiles.

Syria has tested the Scud-D. Although Syria already has Scud missiles capable of hitting
Israel, the new model acquired from North Korea will allow it to
attack all of Israel from bases deep within its own territory. The
missile has a range of around 450 miles. The Syrians are attempting
to develop multiple warheads for the missile in hopes of foiling
Israel's Arrow 2 theater missile defense system, currently in joint
development with the United States. Syria also has one of the
region's most extensive chemical and biological weapons production
programs.

India and Pakistan plan to test new
missiles. Both India and Pakistan have announced their intentions to
test new intermediate range ballistic missiles in the near future.
India is ready to test the 1,860-mile-range Agni III, capable of
hitting targets as far away as central China. Pakistan's military
is waiting for final orders to test the 1,550-mile-range
Shaheen-II. Its latest missiles have been produced with significant
assistance from China and North Korea.

Russia has tested two versions of its
advanced Topol-M. Russia continues to develop more advanced ICBMs and recently
tested both the mobile and silo-based versions of the
6,200-mile-range Topol-M. Russia plans to make the Topol-M the core
of its Strategic Rocket Forces. The mobile version is launched from
a new launch vehicle, making it nearly impossible to track and
target.

As
these developments show, the threat from ballistic missiles to the
United States, U.S. troops, and America's friends and allies is
clear and growing. The intensified proliferation since the
President's deferral decision underscores the folly of this
Administration's approach to the threat. As long as the United
States refuses to commit to the deployment of an effective missile
defense system, dangerous ballistic missiles will continue to put
Americans at risk.

This
growing threat, combined with the President's announcement that the
final decision on missile defense will be left to the next
President, significantly raises the stakes in November's election.
The next President must commit to protecting America's families,
troops, friends, and allies from the threats posed by the
escalating proliferation of missile technology. Diplomacy and arms
control schemes alone remain inadequate. The United States must
develop a robust and global missile defense system.

The
first step is to move beyond the outdated and legally defunct 1972
Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. The President should then
initiate the upgrading of America's fleet of Aegis cruisers to
equip them to defend against ballistic missiles. Additionally, he
should aggressively pursue space-based missile defense options. Few
other decisions the new President makes during the coming year will
be as important.

Jack Spencer is Policy Analyst for
Defense and National Security and Michael
Scardaville is a Research Assistant in the Kathryn and Shelby
Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies at The Heritage
Foundation.